After firing John Harbaugh and hiring Jesse Minter, the Baltimore Ravens are kicking off a new era. Still, they’ll be keeping a close eye on Harbaugh and the New York Giants, as they’ll likely make some plays on Baltimore’s free agents, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Harbaugh tenure in New York goes.
On Wednesday, the Giants found themselves in the middle of some unfortunate attention. After the Kansas City Chiefs traded cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams, word got out that the Giants were in on McDuffie but were outbid.
The #Giants were the other team making a push to trade for CB Trent McDuffie before the Rams got him, per @SamMcDowell11. LA was willing to give up a 1st-round pick and additional assets — which got it past the finish line. https://t.co/J6CSFhIFnZ pic.twitter.com/mBIIYRxHq1
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 4, 2026
For Ravens fans, this sounds familiar. During Harbaugh’s successful time in Baltimore, there were countless trades and signings they were close on, but couldn’t push across the finish line. While general manager Eric DeCosta calls the shots, Harbaugh had an impact on decision-making. That struggle to complete deals seems to have followed him.
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Talk about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks. Baltimore had plenty of “almost” Ravens with Harbaugh in charge. Again, most of the blame for these missed moves can fall on DeCosta, but Harbaugh had a significant voice, too.
Among these failed moves are outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith not agreeing to terms in 2022, coming up short in trade talks for cornerback Jalen Ramsey in 2019, and missing out on a deal for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in 2020. News doesn’t get much more agonizing to hear when your favorite team nearly traded for a Pro Bowler, but couldn’t finalize things.
The list is longer than that, but those potential acquisitions would’ve been game-changers, and the Ravens always have had an issue of faceplanting before they could cross the finish line. It was embarrassing at times. Maybe it was a Harbaugh problem, and with the Giants news surrounding McDuffie, it certainly looks like it could be.
Harbaugh holds a similar high authority role in New York that he did with the Ravens. In Baltimore, he reported to owner Steve Bisciotti rather than DeCosta. As he looks to change the direction the Giants are headed in, he’ll report to owner John Mara rather than general manager Joe Schoen. As a result, he holds more control in roster construction, adopting a more coach-centric leadership approach. His past failures are already taking place with the Giants.
Hopefully, for the Ravens, DeCosta and Minter can overcome the issue of deals collapsing in the final moments. If the New York-McDuffie news is any indication, it could be proof that coming up short may have been a Harbaugh issue.